Pequonnock River Valley State Park
Trumbull, Fairfield County, Connecticut

The Northern part of this Park is bordered by three parks: Indian Ledge Park, Old Mine Park and Parlor Rock Park.

Directions:

Drive a little more than 30 miles north on the Merritt Parkway to get off at Exit 48 for Route 111 north; turn left onto Route 111 (Main Street); drive 3.0 miles  to Stonehouse Road on the left; drive a short distance more and where Rt. 111 turns bears left go straight onto Broadway; turn right onto Whitney Avenue; drive 0.2 of a mile (there is a small white sign on the left for Parlor Rock Park) and turn right onto a road with no street sign (fairly common occurrence in Connecticut); a short distance down on the right is a parking area.  The trail can be seen from the parking area. 

Notes from Tom Ebersold, AMC Hike Leader:

There are two distinct sides to the Pequonnock Valley.

The western side is the railroad bed. The best parking is on Tait Road.

Merritt Pkwy. North to Rt. 25 North (Exit 49A). Left at the light onto Daniels Farm Road. Right at the light onto Rt. 127 (Church Hill Road).
Right onto Tait Road (not Tait Mill Road). Park on the street. The trailhead is ahead on your left.


The eastern side is all the trails, which includes a river walk.

Merritt Pkwy. North to Rt. 25 North (Exit 49A). Left at the light onto Daniels Farm Road. Next right onto Park St. Left into the Park and Ride lot. From the lot, turn left onto Park Street. At the end of the road, bear left onto the trail.

Regrettably, no good trail maps exist for the area.

Use map at: http://www.trumbullhistory.org/valley/trailmaps.shtml

History:

1836 – Andrew Tait built a paper and strawboard mill along the Pequonnock River.

1836 – a charter was granted to Enoch Foote, William Peet and William C. Stirling for the creation of the Housatonic Railroad. This railroad traveled along the Pequonnock River.

1840  --  the first steam train traveled through the valley

late 1800s  --  Tungsten Mining Company operated north of Parlor Rock.

Trails:

On the west side of the park there is a level railroad grade about three miles in length.

The east side of the park has a wide variety of terrain.

9/24/2005.  On a warm afternoon, Rosemary Cooney, Ceferino Santana, dog Sonar and I walked south along the Pequonnock River Greenway Trail.  There are some beautiful rock cliffs here.  That was the highlight of the trip for us.  We went off trail, heading down to the River.  There were not that many plants down by the river.  Too shaded perhaps.  Then we came back up by some informal trails to the main trail.  Rosemary got tired of no flower blooms, so we turned around after a short walk to head back to the car.  Next stop was Kaatz Pond Park. 

Source:

Wayne Sakal.  Pequannock River Valley State Park.  http://www.trumbullhistory.org/written/prv.shtml

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney

*  =  plants blooming on field trip, 9/24/2005

Trees:
Acer platanoides (Norway maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Carya cordiformis (bitternut hickory)
Carya ovata (shagbark hickory)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Juglans nigra (black walnut)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)
Ulmus americana (American elm)

Shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush) 
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus hispidus (swamp dewberry)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburnum)

Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Dioscorea villosa (wild yam root)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis aestivalis (summer grape)

Herbs:
Acalypha sp. (three-seeded mercury)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut)
Apocynum sp. (dogbane)
Aralia nudicaulis (wild sarsaparilla)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Aster divaricatus (white wood aster)     *
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)
Epifagus virginiana (beech drops)     *
Hieracium paniculatum (panicled hawkweed)
Impatiens sp. (jewelweed)     *
Peltandra virginica (arrow arum)
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed)     *
Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed)
Polygonum virginianum (jumpseed)
Potentilla simplex (common cinquefoil)
Prenanthes sp. (rattlesnake root)
Rumex sp. (dock)
Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)
Smilacina racemosa (false Solomon's seal)
Solidago caesia (blue-stem goldenrod)     *
Solidago rugosa (rough-leaved goldenrod)     *
Viola spp. (violet)

Rushes:
Juncus tenuis (path rush)

Sedges:
Carex laxiflora type (loose-flowered type sedge)
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge)

Grasses:
Cinna arundinacea (wood reedgrass)

Ferns:
Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern)
Dryopteris carthusiana (toothed woodfern)
Dryopteris marginalis (marginal woodfern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)

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